Hot, hot, hot: BYU men’s basketball outlasts Iowa State for ninth straight win, advance to Big 12 semifinals
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- BYU’s Richie Saunders (15) makes the game-clinching 3-pointer with 49 seconds to play in a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- BYU men’s basketball coach Kevin Young (right) calls out a play while Dallin Hall dribbles the ball during a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- BYU’s Richie Saunders places a placard on the Big 12 Tournament bracket after a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- BYU’s Richie Saunders holds onto a loose ball in a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- BYU fans react after a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- BYU’s Richie Saunders gets a hug from head coach Kevin Young after a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- BYU’s Dallin Hall drives (right) around a defender in a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- BYU fans react in a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- BYU men’s basketball coach Kevin Young gives instructions during a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- BYU’s Fousseyni Traore (right) takes a shot over a pair of defenders in a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- Former BYU quarterback and NFL star Taysom Hill (right) greets fans during the Cougars’ 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- BYU’s Trey Stewart (left) and Mihailo Boskovic scramble for a loose ball during a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- BYU’s Richie Saunders (15) makes the game-clinching 3-pointer with 49 seconds to play in a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- BYU’s Keba Keita (13) dunks the ball in a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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- From left, BYU’s Trey Stewart, Richie Saunders and Kevin Young address the media during a press conference after a 96-92 victory against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
Iowa State’s Curtis Jones went on what is known in the biz as a “heater” in the first half of Thursday’s extraordinary Big 12 men’s basketball quarterfinal game against BYU.
Cougar junior guard Richie Saunders saved his heater for crunch time.
Jones scored 22 points in about six minutes of game time in the first half, every shot another spectacular heat check as the Cyclones roared back from a 10-point deficit. As the ultimate counter move, Saunders scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half and took BYU home in the final minutes of a 96-92 victory at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
“The show that Curtis Jones put on in the first half was an all-timer,” Cougar coach Kevin Young said on his post-game radio interview. “It just felt like no matter what we did, it was going to go in for him. So I was really happy with our guys in terms of not getting rattled and staying the course. I say it literally after every game, but every game has a life of its own. And luckily, we found the right buttons to push to get it done.”
Jones’ incredible shot making — he scored 14 straight points during one stretch in the first half — gave Iowa State fans, who refer to T-Mobile Center as “Hilton South” during Big 12 Tournament time, a lot to cheer about. The Cyclones were playing without injured starters Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert but shot 60% from the field and led 53-49 at halftime, then kept up their torrid pace and had a 70-61 lead with 13:21 to play.
But BYU’s depth started to wear down the short-handed Cyclones. The Cougars second five of Fousseyni Traore (15 points), Mihailo Boskovic (10), Dallin Hall (7), Trey Stewart (6) and Dawson Baker (3) combined for 41 points, setting the stage for Saunders to dominate down the stretch.
Nursing an 89-88 lead with under a minute to play, Hall got two feet in the key and found Saunders at the elbow for a clutch 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining for a 92-88 advantage.
“I was the one that kind of had a little window,” Saunders said. “We shot 50% from three or whatever, and that’s incredible, but it’s because of the shots that we were taking. And those kind of shots, versus just off the dribble or early shot clock shots, we had a lot of ‘paint to great’ threes, and that was just one of them.”
On Iowa State’s next offensive possession, Saunders blocked a Milan Momcilovic 3-point attempt and Hall recovered the ball with 33 seconds left. With seven seconds to play, Saunders made a pair of free throws to put the game away.
BYU was 18 of 36 from beyond the arc and Iowa State 13 of 30 as the two teams set a Big 12 Tournament record for most combined 3-pointers in a game (31). Eight different Cougars made 3-pointers, with Trevin Knell (14 points) going 4 for 4, Boskovic 3 for 7 and Saunders 3 for 8.
“It’s a credit to our guys for spacing, No. 1, and being unselfish, No. 2,” Young said. “Then being able to knock shots down at the end of it. There’s a lot that goes into it, for sure.”
Along with his 23 points, Saunders tied a career high with five assists and Hall had seven as BYU had 24 helpers on 30 made baskets. Traore was 5 of 6 from the field for his 15 points. Keba Keita contributed nine points and ten rebounds.
“I thought today was a kind of the epitome of where our depth shined,” Young said. “For us to be able to have 41 bench points, you can’t scout everything. You can’t prepare for everything, every play, every guy, and so it’s a huge luxury to have guys that can come in and step up and make plays.”
Jones, the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year, was one off his career high of 32 points. After making 8 of 12 (6 of 9 from 3) in the first half, Jones was 3 of 10 from the field and 1 of 6 from the 3-point line in the second.
Young said he thought the defensive effort of Mawot Mag and Stewart on Jones eventually took its toll.
“KY (Young) said at the beginning of the season, our ceiling is going to be how we play defense,” Stewart said. “He (Jones) was cooking. I can’t lie. It was fun to watch. He’s a good dude. It was fun to play against and I really love that defensive challenge.
“I said fun to watch, in terms of fun to watch that battle happen. It was not fun to watch him go off against us. We come into the game every time to play harder than the guy in front of us, and I feel like we really took pride that second half and executed that.”
Momcilovic had 18 points and Joshua Jefferson and Deshon Jackson scored 14 apiece for the Cyclones (24-9).
BYU made six of its first nine 3-pointers to take a 25-15 lead with 12:02 to play on a Baker triple. That’s when Jones got insanely hot and started dropping in shots from all over the court. Momcilovic tossed in a 3-pointer for a 49-39 ISU lead with 3:08 to play in the half. Stewart’s steal led to a Traore dunk and then Stewart bombed in a triple to cut the deficit to 49-47 with 1:51 to play in the half, the Cyclones leading 53-49 at the break.
Iowa State had the momentum in the second half but BYU rallied and tied it at 72-all a Boskovic 3-pointer then the freshman big man hit another one from distance moments later for a 75-72 lead with 9:41 to play. The Cougars led by five with under three minutes to play and managed to fight off the Cyclones for the victory.
BYU has won four straight games against ranked teams for the first time since 1950-51.
The Cougars move on to the semifinals on Friday against second-ranked and No. 1 seed Houston, a 77-68 winner against No. 16 seed Colorado in the quarterfinals.
“We played them super early on,” Young said. “They were our first Big 12 road game, and they smacked us (86-55 in Houston). We’ve grown a lot since then. We feel like we’ve found more of our identity since that time. We’ll try to go out there and be the best version of ourselves.”
Men’s College Basketball
Big 12 Tournament Semifinals
No. 4 BYU (24-8) vs. No. 1 Houston (28-4)
Friday, 5 MT
T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
TV/Streaming: ESPN
Radio: KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM, BYU Radio
Live stats: byucougars.com
The Word: No. 1 seed Houston advanced to the semifinals with a 77-68 victory against No. 16 seed Colorado, Emanuel Sharp leading the red Cougars with 19 points. … Houston beat BYU 86-55 at the Fertitta Center on Jan. 4. … The last time the blue Cougars advanced to a conference championship game was in 2021 as a member of the West Coast Conference, losing to Gonzaga 88-78 in Las Vegas. … BYU’s only win in four games against Houston came in 2019, T.J. Haws connecting on a fall-away jumper as time expired in a 72-71 victory.
